Why you can't apply one market's numbers to the other
Singapore runs at higher absolute costs than Malaysia across the board — higher CPMs, higher CPCs, higher cost per lead — because of higher competition, higher purchasing power and a smaller, more contested audience. A Singapore CPL that looks alarming next to a Malaysian one may be perfectly healthy for SG. The only fair judgement is each market against its own baseline.
The side-by-side benchmark
| Vertical / metric | Malaysia (MYR) | Singapore (SGD) |
|---|---|---|
| Aesthetic — Meta CPL | RM15–45 | SGD 25–80 |
| Aesthetic — cost/booked consult | RM90–260 | SGD 120–350 |
| Dental — Google CPC | RM6–18 | SGD 8–25 |
| Dental — CPL | RM60–180 | SGD 80–250 |
| Interior design — Meta CPL | RM25–70 | SGD 30–90 |
| General SME — Meta CPM | RM8–25 | SGD 8–22 |
From our MY & SG benchmarks. Note these are nominal (different currencies) — the SGD figures are higher in both currency and real terms.
How to read the gap
Two practical takeaways. First, budget each market in its own currency against its own baseline — never convert one into the other as a target. Second, higher SG costs usually come with higher case/customer values (SG Invisalign and implant values run above MY), so the higher CPL is often justified by higher revenue per case — the maths has to be done per market, as we do for SG dental.
What we do differently in client accounts
For dual-market clients we maintain separate MY and SG baselines and report each market against its own — so neither looks artificially good or bad. It feeds the account structure we cover in running one brand across MY + SG, and the raw ranges live in our benchmarks resource.
What to do about it
- Set separate MY (MYR) and SG (SGD) baselines; never judge one by the other.
- Budget each market in its own currency against its own benchmark.
- Weigh higher SG costs against higher SG case/customer values.
- Report each market separately so performance reads honestly.